With the close of the Democratic National Convention, there is joy and excitement in the political air. Young people, people of color and moderates are engaged again. Sometimes, living in a red state, it’s hard to feel the Democratic love, but we need to make sure we translate the enthusiasm we are feeling to our local and yes, even our state races.
Even though I am an unaffiliated voter who has supported Sen. Romney and Gov. Cox, this election I’m supporting Democrats up and down the ballot and locally, I’m supporting Megan McKenna for County Council Seat C.
Megan won’t be caving to the whims of a party and is not part of the Summit County old boys club. She will bring a fresh new voice, one we definitely need on council. With a background in science, education and housing advocacy, she is uniquely qualified and brings a skill set currently missing on council. Who better to represent the voices of the people in our community than someone who has educated our kids, worked in our resort community and everything in between.
She grew up in Summit County and is running a grassroots campaign, she isn’t self-funding her campaign. I’ve been so impressed with the depth of her endorsements and the breadth of citizens supporting her.
We also need to support Democrats like Caroline Gleich and Brian King, who are willing to step up. We have a young population and polls have shown that even in Utah, Millennials and Gen Z are increasingly progressive on social issues. Gov. Cox, who was a holdout on supporting Trump until recently should be sent the message that we all don’t support the GOP agenda or his caving in to party politics.
Continuing to make our Democratic voices heard is important if we don’t want to turn into Idaho or Texas with regards to reproductive health.
The day after Dobbs was overturned, our state Legislature set into motion an anti-abortion trigger law. After two years of trials and appeals, abortion is still available to 18 weeks in Utah — for now. Since the Legislature has lost their options in court, it’s hard to know what they’ll do next. Democrats want to make sure that agency of our body is a discussion between a woman and her doctor, and keep the state legislators out of the OB/GYN exam room.
In 2018, even in this overwhelming conservative state, Utah voters passed an initiative supporting an independent redistricting commission to draw our voting districts. This, like everything else the Legislature doesn’t support, ended up in court and the court supported the voice of the people. Recently, the Republican-dominated Utah Legislature has said they want to overturn the court’s decision and ignore initiatives.
This disrespect for the voice of the people continues down to the county level, where we’ve had conservative groups go after inclusion curriculum, trying to tell our districts what they can and cannot teach our kids. These groups have also tried banning books they don’t like.
And finally, we need more female voices representing us. Tonja Hansen will be the only female voice on the County Council if we don’t elect Megan. We need more qualified females running for office, and we’re lucky Megan has stepped up.
2024 is the year to make Democratic voices up and down the ballot heard in Utah. We might not win every race, but we can make an impact and we can send a message.
If you are feeling energized after four amazing days in Chicago, get involved in a local campaign — put Megan’s sign in your yard, volunteer, follow her on social media and most importantly donate and vote.
Tania Knauer
Park City